The Magpies led at every change against a gallant Cougars outfit before holding on for a 14.10 (94) to 13.10 (94) victory.
Skipper Craig Flint was heroic for the victor, marking everything at half back and provided the highlight of the day when he took the most courageous grab imaginable running back with the flight of the ball.
Former captain Daniel Keenan was the general in the middle of the ground and was close to best afield, while Dean Limbach and Kayne Pettifer had their kicking boots on and combined for nine goals.
For Northcote Park, Bronik Davies and Paul Scanlon worked tirelessly through the middle of the field, with Scanlon booting two important goals, while Mitch Papas and Jake Mills were creative in space.
Ultimately it was Northcote Park’s lack of a focal point up forward that cost it the game, with the Magpies’ tall defenders often on the end of the Cougars’ many forays forward.
The game started at a frenetic pace with Will Debruin kicking the first goal of the game within the opening 30 seconds.
Despite Northcote Park’s early lead, it was Montmorency who settled better thanks largely to Dean Limbach’s dominance up forward.
Last season’s leading competition lead goal kicker kicked his side’s opening three goals and had a chance for another when he took a big leaping grab before kicking directly into his opponent standing the mark.
After Ryan Jackson and Sammy O’Meara kicked consecutive goals the home side had opened to a 17-point lead before Daniel Rajab kicked a much-needed late goal for the Cougars to close the margin to 11 at the first break.
Held quiet by Ben McNiece in the opening term, Kayne Pettifer kicked a miraculous goal from the boundary line to start the second term, before Northcote Park hit back strongly.
Three consecutive goals to Koden Colman, Mitch Papas and Jake Mills gave the Cougars a surprise lead midway through the term as their midfield began to take control.
But just as Northcote Park hit the front, prolific midfielder Nyaburu Kelly went down with a knee injury and didn’t return for the day.
Upon Kelly’s exit, Montmorency booted three of the next four goals to take an 11-point lead into the main break, which included Limbach’s fourth after the half time siren.
The Magpies were sluggish after half time and managed just one point in the opening ten minutes of the third quarter as Northcote Park closed to within a point on the back of goals to Mills and Debruin.
Keenan and Ben Haynes then became dangerous in the middle of the field and helped swing the ascendancy Montmorency’s way.
Pettifer kicked a 40m set shot goal to extend the margin to seven points, before a free kick to Limbach in the goal square led to his fifth and a handy buffer for the home side.
Scanlon calmly slotted a 40m goal to close the buffer, before a late goal to Pettifer again gave the Magpies a 15-point lead at the final change.
Montmorency looked home when Luke Jackson and Pettifer kicked the opening two goals of the final term to extend to a 27-point buffer, but Northcote Park refused to surrender.
Nick Carter capitalised on an error in defence by Aisake O’hAilpin to kick a nice running goal, before Scanlon unleashed a 55m bomb off one step to cut the margin to 14.
With the game in the balance, Montmorency appeared to go into its shell and Matthew Deledio took full advantage, sneaking forward to earn a free kick from which he converted.
But it would be the Cougars’ final goal.
The Magpies tackled and applied pressure desperately in the final stages as Northcote Park could muster only two behinds in the final eight minutes of the game.
With six wins from its opening eight games, Montmorency heads into the Queen’s Birthday break in third place on the ladder ahead of a tough clash against Bundoora.
On the back of a second nail-biting loss this season, the Cougars slipped to sixth place and next face a rejuvenated Macleod outfit at Bill Lawry Oval in a fortnight.
Final score: Montmorency 14. 10 (94) def Northcote Park 13.10 (88)
